This film's poster should have a banner headline screaming: SEE: Titans In A Box!

The story, in brief:

The Heraklion king, Hyperion, has declared war on the
Olympian Gods and all mankind.To this
end he is searching for the Epirus Bow, a divine weapon that will allow him to
release the imprisoned Titans and with their help defeat the Olympians.Why?Well, it seems that when his wife was stricken with a fatal disease
Hyperion called on the gods for help but his pleaswent unanswered.So now he has decided to destroy the Olympians
and punishthem
for ignoring his prayers.The gods are
listening now.

Mickey Rouke as King Hyperion

Not surprisingly the Olympians are disgusted by Hyperion’s
cruelty and disregard for the “accepted rules of engagement.”They are eager to teach Hyperion a lesson or
two but Zeus, in his infinite and unfathomable wisdom, has forbidden the gods
from intervening directly in the affairs of man.Zeus has instead selected Theseus as his
instrument for the salvation of mankind.In this it would seem Zeus has chosen wisely.

The Olympian Gods, roused at last, prepare to battle the
Titans

Though of humble birth, whose mother is treated as an
outcast and father is unknown (it is said his mother was raped by other
villagers but there is every indication that Zeus is the actual father) Theseus
has grown into a mighty warrior strong of limb and stout of heart.The problem is that Theseus is badly out
numbered in every fight and is constantly in danger of being killed.

Zeus unleashes his anger on Apollo for intervening directly
to save Theseus

Luckily for him the gods are constantly breaking Zeus’
commandment (with and without his knowledge) and intervening in miraculous ways
to save Theseus from certain death.The
real question is: Can the Olympians save themselves from almost certain
destruction?That will be answered in
the all too obviously set up sequel.

Titans in
a box!The Titans endure
their strange imprisonment

Re-working myths is fine and it often serves to avoid all of
the carping about historical accuracy.Certainly we have been treated to numerous versions of Homer's Odyssey
(including the rather imaginative version by the Coen Brothers with George
Clooney as Ulysses) or the Jason myth (the seminal 1962 film showcasing the
stop motion work of Ray Harryhausen being the noteworthy entry here).However ...

There is little here to recommend this latest re-working of
Greek mythology, and the level of violence is not so much gratuitous as it is
pornographic.As director Val Lewton so ably
demonstrated, less is often more, but here the director, Tarsem Singh, clearly
believes more is not enough.

Poseidon
considers the fate of Apollo for aiding Theseus

Costumes are by the famed Japanese costume designer and
fashion artist Eiko Ishioka, whose signature headgear is on display here from
the fanciful helmets worn by the Olympian Gods to the seemingly Time Bandits
inspired travel hats worn by the Sibylline Oracles.Ishioka-san won an Academy award for her work
on Bram Stoker's Dracula, and while
her designs for Immortals are
imaginative, and one of the film's better aspects, they are not served well by
the film itself. (For a better example of a fashion designer's costume work in
a feature film see The Fifth Element
with costumes by Jean-Paul Gaultier.)

One of the Sibylline Oracles in her “travel” attire

Likewise the acting and fight choreography are, at best,
ho-hum, though not from lack of trying.The film is going for the look of 300
but unlike that earlier film (noteworthy for its faithful rendition of Frank
Miller’s comic book stylization) Immortals
isa
very pale imitation.

The production team for Immortals
appears not to have understood the parameters of that style unlike, for
example, the production team behind the Starz cable series Spartacus.The violence and
sex are so stylized in that cable series as to be almost cartoonish and thus
more easily dealt with by the viewer.Immortals, on the other hand, seems
caught somewhere between this highly stylized look and a gritty realism
(particularly with the violence) that leaves one confused, and not a little bit
disgusted by the cruelty that seems plainly out of place in a fantasy film.

Theseus fights with the Minotaur

The idea that Theseus fights not a literal Minotaur but a
man in a bull shaped helmet is not new but certainly works within the context
of this story.Likewise, I give the
actors credit for working hard with the material they are saddled with, but
therein lies the problem -- the story.

Zeus and his daughter, Athena

The story here, such as it is, does not engage the viewer on
any level deeper than the most superficial.The film's director, Tarsem Singh, has said that what he is attempting
is:

"Basically, Caravaggio meets Fight Club. It's a really hardcore
action film done in Renaissance painting style. I want to see how that goes;
it's turned into something really cool. I'm going for a very contemporary look
on top of that so I'm kind of going with, you know, Renaissance time with
electricity."

All that being said, my disappointment with the film is not
that it plays fast and loose with the Greek myths or mixes together art and
artifacts from a dozen different eras/countries/cultures or even that the arms
and armor have little to do with ancient or even mythic Greece.This happens all the time in Science Fiction
and Fantasy and often to good effect (The
Lord Of The Rings comes to mind).No, the problem here is that at its most basic level, Immortals is boring.It fails to engage us and indeed actually repels
us with its needlessly graphic splatter porn violence.

Theseus and his fellow Greeks prepare for the final battle

Immortals does
achieve the impossible by making Zack Snyder's 300 seem Oscar worthy.

My humble recommendation: Save your money - Wait for Immortals to play on cable TV, and then
watch something else.

Immortals is
currently playing in movie theatres and should make its appearance on DVD and
Blu-ray in the first half of 2012.

This review was first published on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website in November of 2011.

Based upon
the best selling novel by Thomas Costain, The Silver Chalice was Warner Brothers’ attempt to
cash in on the popularity of Sword & Sandal films kicked off by the success
of MGM’s 1951 box office hit, Quo Vadis.However, almost from the opening frame it is clear that Warner Brothers
and their director, Victor Saville, had no idea what they were doing.

Made for
about half what Quo Vadis cost and without Peter Ustinov as Nero, The Silver
Chalice
nevertheless boasts a roster of talent that should have insured a good return
on WB’s investment.Many of the
actors were already well established (Natile Wood, Virginia Mayo, Jack Palance)
but the cast also included a couple of noteworthy debuts among them Lorne
Greene and Paul Newman.Yet even
these talented actors can do little to improve a script that is both too
earnest and too unfocused at the same time.

Loren Greene as
Peter and Paul Newman as Basil

There are
several competing subplots, but essentially the story concerns a Greek sculptor
(Paul Newman), sold into slavery, who is set free, both physically and
emotionally, by the commission given him, from Joseph of Arimathea, to create a
silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail.

This
commission takes Newman’s character, Basil, from Antioch to Jerusalem and then
on to Rome where he finds Peter (Lorne Greene) running a small tavern, and
Simon (Jack Palance) performing at Nero’s palace as the ancient world
equivalent of Penn & Teller.Newman also enjoys romantic interludes with Helena (Virginia Mayo) and
Deborra (Pier Angeli).Beyond that
the story is imminently forgettable and easily interchangeable with any number
of other films dealing with Romans and Christians including The Robe and its sequel, Demetrius And
the Gladiators.Generally, the Romans are corrupt
pagans, and the Christians virtuous martyrs.Oh, and as the climax is set in Rome, there is the
obligatory riot by the Mob because, as Hollywood has taught us, that’s what the
Roman Mob does – it riots.

What makes
this film noteworthy are neither the story nor the acting, but the costumes and
sets, though not for their historical accuracy, but rather just the opposite.

Helena led away
by the Praetorians

While the
Roman legionaries and Praetorian Guards wear standard Hollywood Roman armor and
the Roman citizens wear non descript tunics, the costumes worn by Jack Palance
are straight out of a B-grade Science Fiction film and indeed the makeup poor
Virginia Mayo is saddled with makes her look like ZaaZaa Gabor from the 1950’s
Sci-Fi classic, The Queen Of Outer Space.

Jack Palance as
Simone the Magician and Virginia Mayo as Helena.

As for the
design on Simone’s costume, they might be snakes or perhaps …

Interestingly,
although the legionaries and Praetorians have round metal shields, wear red
tunics & capes, greaves, and carry spears, their helmets are not
outrageously bad (like those in Gladiator) and even more remarkable – some of the soldiers are
not wearing bracers!How the
costume designer got this right, and so much else wrong, is baffling
particularly given the outrageous nature of the other costumes.It is also worth noting that in this
film (like so many others) the legionaries seem to enjoy lounging about at
dinner while still wearing their armor!That could not have been very comfortable, for actor or for soldier.

Better
still are the sets, which display a fine example of Abstract Minimalist
Art.Nero’s Palace looks like Las
Vegas, except even Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas displays more affinity for
ancient Rome that these sets do.The sets are more reminiscent of the original Star Trek TV series, and
one expects Kirk and Spock to walk in at any moment and complain that someone
has violated the Prime Directive, which, come to think of it, actually seemed
to happen a lot on that series.

Simone and
Helena at Simone’s home in Rome.Judging from

the wall décor is it any wonder that Simone was crazed?

This is not
to say the sets are either cheap or un-artistic.Far from it, and in fact the Art Director, Boris Levin and
the Set Decorator, Howard Bristol, both have several great films to their
credits including West Side Story, The Sound Of Music, The Andromeda Strain and Rope, to name a few.

Likewise,
the story of the film is more interesting than the story told by the
film.

The part of
Basil, the Greek Sculptor, was first offered to James Dean, but he passed on
the advice of his agent who thought the script poor.The part was then offered to Paul Newman who had lost out to
Dean for the starring role in East of Eden.That
film made Dean a star, while The Silver Chalice, nearly sank Newman’s career before
it had even set sail.One
contemporary critic said of Newman’s acting, he “delivers
his lines with the emotional fervor of a Putnam Division conductor announcing
local stops.”
In fact, when the film was first shown on television in 1961, Newman took out a
full-page ad in the Hollywood trade papers apologizing for his performance and
asking the public not to watch the broadcast.Predictably, the ad had the opposite effect and the film
enjoyed a robust TV audience share.

Paul Newman and
Pier Angeli – Newman’s protests

not
withstanding, his performance is not that bad.

Filming
another movie on the same lot, Dean actually came to watch Newman work and see
what he had passed up.It was on
the set of The Silver Chalice that Dean met the love of his life, Pier Angeli.Years later, upon Dean’s untimely
death, Newman would replace him in the boxing film Somebody Up There Likes
Me, working once
again with Pier Angeli.That film
reignited Newman’s career, and he remained a top star for the rest of his life.

“I need no
wings to fly!” Jack
Palance as Simone the Magician.

Beyond the
sets and the unintentional humor, there is little to recommend this film, other
than perhaps Jack Palance’s scenery chewing performance.Although he is playing the character as
crazed, Palance is clearly in control.His talent is both obvious and remarkable.The director no doubt meant this as a serious performance,
but it is now a stand out example of High Camp at its best.In fact it now seems clear, given
recent performances by Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Nicholas Cage, that Jack
Palance had as great an influence on American actors as did Brando, Olivier, or
Wells.

Sometimes even the most earnest on intentions bring
about unintended results, so perhaps it is incorrect to say this film has no
merit.On the contrary, there is
enough ridiculousness here to recommend this film for a hot summer night when
there is nothing else on.So pop
some corn and enjoy.

Jacques
Aubuchon as Emperor Nero

These short
scenes from the Turner Classic Movies web site should give you a good feel for
the film and the remarkably strange sets:

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Each City-State maintained an army of citizen soldiers who
served in the army only when called upon.After basic training (usually between the ages of 18-20) these citizens
worked as farmers, merchants, and craftsmen.They were not professional soldiers, however, because the
Greek City-States were constantly fighting with each other, many of these
citizen soldiers served with the army for a few months every year.

Each citizen was expected to provide his own armor and
weapons, which could be quite expensive.The cost of the full panoply for a foot soldier was about the same as the price of a
modern automobile.Thus the very
rich would serve as cavalry (because they could afford the cost of a horse)
while poor citizens would serve as light infantry (with simple weapons and
little or no armor).It was the
middle class, citizens just like your parents, who formed the backbone of the
army – the heavy infantry called Hoplites.

The word hoplite comes from the word hoplon, which is the name for the
soldier’s distinctive shield.(The
word hoplon also refers to the hoplite’s complete panoply of armor &
weapons).

The Hoplite’s shield was 3 feet in diameter and weighed from
15 to 20 pounds!

It was made of wood covered in bronze with the inner side
covered in leather.The arm and
handgrips were made of leather reinforced with bronze.The shield was carried on the left arm
and protected the hoplite’s left side as well as the right side of his
neighbor.So it was then that each
hoplite depended upon his fellow soldiers for protection.

The Hoplite also wore a bronze helmet, often with a
horsehair crest to make the Hoplite appear taller, and greaves made of bronze to protect his legs.Over his body he wore a cuirass made of linen or leather sometimes reinforced with
bronze scales.The very rich could
afford armor made of bronze or brass, but the linen cuirass (called a linothorax) was favored by the hoplites
because of its lightweight and easy maneuverability.

Although the Hoplite was well armed with a thrusting spear
(6-8 feet long) and a sword (about 2’ long) there was a problem.These weapons were, generally speaking,
not strong enough to penetrate a Hoplite’s shield.Thus most battles between hoplites became a shoving match,
much like a modern day rugby scrum – the first formation to fall apart or to be
knocked over lost the battle.Most
soldiers did not die in the battle itself, but were killed when they broke
ranks and retreated.

Unlike his fellow Greeks, the Spartan Hoplite was a
professional soldier – all he ever did, throughout his entire life from the age
of 7 until he was 60, was train for war.Although armed like other Hoplites, the Spartan did have two very
distinctive items: his red tunic and cape.

What set the Spartan Hoplite apart from those of the other
City States was his superior training and discipline.The Spartans did sometimes lose a battle and on very rare
occasions they did retreat, but their reputation as formidable soldiers was
well earned.At Thermopylae, the Spartans did hold their ground and fought to
the death.

The Persian Immortals

By contrast, consider the Persian Immortals.Like the Spartan Hoplites, the
Immortals were professional soldiers who spent their days training for
war.During times of peace the Immortals
were the King’s bodyguard, while on campaign they were the elite backbone of
the entire Persian army.

This sculptural freeze from the royal palace at Susa shows the Immortals in their parade uniforms richly
adorned with silver, gold and precious stones.Each Immortal was armed with a bow & arrows, a short
sword and a thrusting spear with a counter weight of sliver (gold for
officers).There is no doubt that
the Immortals looked impressive on parade.

Were they really immortal?

No, not exactly.They were called ‘The Immortals’ because whenever they suffered
casualties those soldiers were immediately replaced so that there were always
10,000 soldiers on duty.The Greek
historian Herodotus was the first to
use the title ‘Immortals’ but it is possible he confused the Persian word for
Companions with that for Immortals.

The Immortals were professional soldiers, well trained and
highly motivated.They always
displayed great courage and steadfast discipline as did their officers.They were good soldiers, however …

The Immortals were ill equipped for fighting against the
Hoplites.

Their arrows were ineffective against the Hoplite’s armor
and although their spear points were made of iron, they could not penetrate the
bronze shields of the Hoplites.The Immortals did wear scale armor underneath their tunic, but unlike
the Hoplites they had no protection for their legs.Instead of bronze helmets the Immortals wore a cloth cap.

As for their shields, the Immortals carried shields made of
wicker and covered in animal hide.These were lightweight and easy to handle but offered little protection
against the heavy weapons of the Greeks.

Now About Those Hoplite Shields …

The Hoplites often decorated their shields with images and
symbols that held a special meaning to them.Some cities, like Sparta, used the same symbol on all their
shields, while others displayed a wide range of images taken from mythology or
nature.

As you can see from these examples mythical creatures like
the Cyclopes, Medusa and Pegasus were very popular.So too were animals like the dolphin, octopus, horse and
bull.Some hoplites favored
geometric patterns while others used the image of a ship or a soldier.

Today’s Exercise

Design your own Hoplite shield.You may use a classical image from mythology or something
more modern.The choice is your,
but it should be an image that has a special meaning to you.Perhaps something from your family
history (where you were born) or an item you really like (a family pet or your
favorite hero).The design and
colors are totally up to you.However …

Be prepared to explain your shield and its meaning.

This assignment is due at the
beginning of the next class and you may be called upon to explain your shield’s
meaning to the rest of the class.

One of the very best websites for Ancient history and in
particular Ancient Persia is Livius
created by Dutch Historian Jona Lendering.His command of the ancient sources is remarkable and his
analysis always insightful.His
web site should be your ‘go to’ source on the internet.